Does Loki Control the Timeline at the End of Season 2? Explained

‘Loki’ Season 2 ended in the best way possible. The whole storyline was neatly cleaned up, with the rumors of Loki assuming control turning true. We know that the whole issue was a moral issue between keeping as many lives as possible at the expense of timelines that were deemed wrong and were ultimately pruned and the lack of free will in the timelines that were deemed “right” by He Who Remains. Loki aimed to stop that and to give everyone a third choice, keeping everything, both the lives and free will, and he seemingly succeeded, so does Loki control the timelines now? 

Loki had to make some hard choices in the finale

Back in Episode 5 of ‘Loki,’ we knew that Loki’s newfound time-slipping control would prove to be a crucial element in saving the TVA and the rest of the Multiverse. This is something that He Who Remains was also counting on because he was the one who gave him the ability in the first place. 

In any case, Loki figured out what he needed to do to find himself at the right place in time, but he was still powerless to stop the Temporal Loom meltdown as the factors that came into play were too numerous, and it seemed like each time, he missed something vital and important. 

Loki went as far as to spend a few centuries learning the complicated principles of physics and time travel. They came so close to repairing the Loom when Timely revealed that it’s impossible to repair it because you can’t scale for infinity. If Temporal Loom were to accept infinite timelines, its rings would have to be infinite as well, and it’s not something that can be done. 

Loki then went back in time, before Sylvie killed He Who Remains, and aimed to stop the problem at its root, and this is when he found out that he will either have to kill Sylvie or doom all alternative timelines to death since Temporal Loom was never a vital component of the TVA it was merely a failsafe to ensure that in case something were to happen to He Who Remains the sacred timeline is the only thing still standing. 

Loki chooses the third path, the hardest choice of all 

After a brief conversation with Mobius, Loki learned all about making the hard choices, and everyone assumed he would be going after Sylvie since it was the most logical thing to do, but there was another way. 

Loki returned once again to the point before Temporal Loom was destroyed, and he stepped on that gangway himself. His mortal clothes were replaced by his godly regalia, and Loki used every one of his godly powers to dismantle the loom. 

The timelines that were previously feeding into Temporal Loom scattered all over the Void, rapidly dying. Loki started reaching for the timelines, invigorating them with life and allowing them to thrive. He then dragged all these infinite timelines to the He Who Remains’ throne and assumed a place on it, serving as the core of the Tree of Time. But what is Loki’s exact function on the throne? 

Loki is not controlling the timelines. He is giving them life

Sylvie’s and Loki’s biggest beef with He Who Remains was the fact that he took the free will from everybody, and this is why Sylvie killed him in the first place. He decided who died and who lived based on what He Who Remains deemed to be the appropriate choice to make. Everybody had free will, yes, in theory, but as soon as you made some choice that would give rise to the evil variant of He Who Remains, you would either be pruned, or your whole reality would be pruned. 

And this is not free will at all. It is only an illusion. Since Loki aimed to stop that when he assumed his place at the heart of Yggdrasil, he wasn’t controlling the timeline. He was merely feeding them life, allowing them to survive, but the inhabitants of these timelines still had free will. 

The proof that Loki is not controlling the Multiverse in the same place He Who Remains did…

The biggest proof that Loki is not in control came in the last scene of the series – the rise of Evil Kang Variants. He Who Remains took free will from people in order to stop the Evil variants. Under new management, variants have come to life, and they are coming fast. Loki does not get to decide who lives and who dies. 

Mobius confirmed that Kang the Conqueror caused some trouble to the realm adjacent to Earth-616 (Quantum Realm) and that he was taken care of. We also know that the Council of Kangs is already active (many evil variants of He Who Remains), but they are seemingly unaware of the existence of TVA.

Sylvie also confirmed that they have free will now because she didn’t know where she would end up, and Mobius commented that he would “let the time pass by.”  

All of this implies that Loki is not a Universal dictator; he is allowing them all to live with his godly powers. This also means that Loki didn’t replace He Who Remains, at least not completely. 

In any case, Loki’s actions saved infinite timelines from being destroyed, but they also doomed infinite timelines through the horrible actions that variants are yet to make. It will undoubtedly be one of the most important concepts in the upcoming movies and projects. 

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